Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
He gave Ezra one more kiss and turned on the water. “Is this how you get new guys? They spend one night, get hooked for life?”
Ezra laughed, surprised by the question. He stepped under the warm rain and let the temperature relax his muscles. “Sometimes. I’ve been told I’m a drug.” It had clearly been just a compliment, but he rather liked how it sounded. Addictive and expensive. That was him.
Frank leaned against the wall, letting the water drip down his impressive body, but Ezra could almost see the cogs turning in his head. Could Frank afford him? Doubtful if he was a regular construction worker.
“I’m not surprised. That was… wow,” he said and smiled, assessing Ezra from head to toe. There was more he wanted to say, and something about this hesitant silence made Ezra’s heart speed up like a horse struck with a whip.
Ezra did not do freebies for people who knew him as a sex worker. Too much money and effort went into making him the man he was, and being with him did not come cheap. So he took some shower gel and started rubbing it into his skin while waiting for Frank’s move.
“Would it be rude to ask how much you charge? You know, I’m a very busy guy, I don’t have time for dating, but if I had something solid like this, say, once a week, I could make the time.”
Something floated up in Ezra’s stomach, tickling him on the inside, and he had to lean against the tiled wall when his legs felt a bit unstable. It was likely that Frank had no idea what a night with a high-end escort might cost, but he did ask instead of trying to woo Ezra into another kind of arrangement. That ought to be appreciated.
“No, it’s a fair question to ask,” he said as his thoughts raced. He looked good enough to use the law of scarcity to his advantage and normally charged two thousand for a whole night, despite living in a place where few people could afford that. It only took a couple of men willing to sprinkle some sugar. But he did like Frank. And the sex they’d had left his thighs trembling, so he cleared his throat and spoke. “A thousand.”
Frank remained silent but his eyes did widen a little. Maybe he didn’t expect Paul’s gift to be this expensive. Ezra didn’t know any details about their connection. He would be researching the logo from Frank’s T-shirt to find out more about him. Unless, of course, it was a random choice, and a lead that took him nowhere. He liked to know as much as he could about his patrons though, and he usually managed to dig up enough to feel secure, in case things went south.
Frank met his gaze. “Maybe twice a month then,” he said with an awkward chuckle. But he didn’t haggle. Like a real gentleman. Good. Ezra was already giving him a discount, whether Frank knew it or not.
He should probably feel bad over taking all that cash off a man who had to scrape the funds together, but he needed the money too, so why should he have scruples about it? At the end of the day, Frank would eventually move on to greener pastures, like everyone else. Money provided the only kind of security that counted.
Ezra smiled and stepped closer, resting his chin on the wet chest. “Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 4
Frank
One year later
[Steak or chicken?] Ezra’s message came with a photo of meat at a butcher’s counter and was followed by a selfie that made Frank’s heart skip a beat. The pretty, smiling face was slightly blurred against the background of a mural featuring a field, and Frank could see just enough tongue to remember the sloppy blowjob Ezra had given him two weeks back, at the very end of their last meeting. He was wearing a thin turtleneck Frank had gotten for him when they went shopping around Christmas time too. They’d see each other soon, but it was nice that Ezra got on board with the boyfriend experience Frank had requested over a year ago, after their first night together.
Frank didn’t question whether all the messages, brief calls between visits, and the smiles Ezra always had for him were genuine, just like he didn’t ask how many people Ezra was seeing and when. A part of him hoped Ezra genuinely liked him on some level, even if their relationship was a business transaction, but at the end of the day, as long as he enjoyed himself and was a gentleman about it, everything was fair. Ezra got money, gifts, and, hopefully, a bit of fun, and Frank got to enjoy his company without jeopardizing his work or lifestyle.
Everybody won.
Frank didn’t need to think twice about his answer to the message, since he knew Ezra didn’t enjoy red meat. [Chicken. Can you make some of those spicy potatoes for later too?] Because while Ezra was a pampered kitten, who liked the finer things in life, he actually cooked well and liked to do it. His meals were much better than Frank’s usual fare of microwave dinners, so as silly as it was, Frank looked forward to them just like he did to seeing Ezra and feasting in a different way.